U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,368, entitled “Plunger with Anti-Splash Shield,” issued to Webb on Jul. 10, 1984. The '368 patent teaches a device for preventing splashing during plunging that comprises a circular or oval shield having an resilient means for expanding the shield to sealably engaging the toilet bowl under the rim. The resilient means is disclosed as an expandable band of steel or plastic. ['368 at col. 2, lines 48-50.] It is also preferably molded within the outer edge of the shield. ['368 at col. 2, lines 48-50.] The shield on this device also has a centrally positioned hole for slideably engaging the shaft of the plunger during plunging. A problem with this device is that it requires contact with the bowl to position the shield. Another problem is that the resilient means requires a large piece of packaging to accommodate the resilient means, which means that it requires more storage space until needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,730, entitled “Anti-Splash Guard” issued to Pardo, et al., on Dec. 3, 2002. The '730 patent teaches a splash guard comprising a circular shield having an upper opening for slideably receiving the shaft of a plunger and a lower opening having a periphery with a continuous elastic element 50 disposed adjacent thereto for receiving a portion of the outside surface 52 of the toilet bowl. A problem with guard of the '038 patent is that the elastic will tend to cause the guard to slip back where it is adjacent the seat and unable to grab any outside surface. As the outside shape of the bowl becomes less round or less indented toward the toilet seat, the tendency to slip increases. Also, because the shield of the '730 patent overlaps the outside of the bowl, water and waste that is splashed up along the top edge of the bowl would leak over the side of the bowl and onto the floor. An object of the present invention is to provide a splash guard for use during plunging that would seat firmly onto a toilet and that substantially prevents any splashes from running down the outside surface of the toilet bowl.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,831, entitled “Anti-Splash Guard” issued to Pardo, et al., on Jul. 23, 2003. The '831 patent teaches a splash guard in FIGS. 4-7 comprising a solid sealed surface that is sized and shaped to cover the outside of the toilet bowl and that has a further extension to accommodate a plunger handle and plunger bulb operatively positioned inside of the toilet bowl. The splash guard of the '831 patent further comprises a bulbous pocket built in the front for catching effluent. One problem with the splash guard of the '831 patent is that it hangs over the outside of the toilet, such that any waste water that splashes over the rim of the toilet during plunging will run down the side of the toilet and leak onto the floor. Another problem with the splash guard of the '831 patent is that it contains the handle of the plunger on the waste side of the splash guard such that the handle will become contaminated during use and require substantial cleaning. Also, because the splash guard and the plunger are subject to substantial movement during plunging, the movement may cause the splash guard to slip back allowing water and waste to further elude containment. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shield that isolates the gripping portion of the plunger handle from direct contact with the waste and waste water in a plugged toilet. A further object of the present invention is to provide a splash guard that substantially prevents waste water from running down the outside surface of the toilet bowl during plunging.